Trailing antenna connector



y 1961 T. R. TRlLLlNG 2,986,733

TRAILING ANTENNA CONNECTOR Filed April 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l RAD/0 10 TRANSMITTER-RECEIVER F 0 22 Fig. 2a

Fig. 2b

INVENTOR.

THEODORE R. TRILLING AGENT zxw May 30, 1961 T. R. TRlLLlNG 2,986,733

TRAILING ANTENNA CONNECT-OR Filed April 29, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR THEODORE TRILLI Un d te, Parse l 2,986,733 TRAILING ANTENNA CONNECTOR Theodore R. Trilling, Levittown, Pa., assignor to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Apr. 29, 1960, Ser. No. 25,807

9 Claims. (Cl. 343-707) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), see. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to reeling mechanisms for trailing-wire type aircraft antennas and more particularly to an improvement in electrical connector apparatus in a reeling mechanism for a trailing-wire type aircraft antenna.

Severe service conditions for a trailing-wire type antenna in modern aircraft have prompted the development of an improved means for electrically connecting the radio equipment in the aircraft to a trailing-wire antenna. Heretofore, one commonly known device for obtaining electrical contact consists of a metallic land or stationary bearing surface fixed in a fairlead. Tension on the antenna maintains a positive electrical contact between the antenna and the bearing surface. Another device uses roller bearing surfaces instead of stationary surfacesto reduce wear on the antenna and on the surfaces due to sliding friction. Both devices obviously obtain noisy electrical connection unless high contact pressure is maintained as by force-opposing bearing surfaces against opposite sides of the antenna. Extension and retraction of the antenna in the course of normal operations under such high contact pressures produces extensive wear on the antenna and on the bearing surfaces and frequently results in bending or kinking.

In the present invention an electrical connector apparatus is contemplated which provides a high pressure, low-impedance electrical contact between the radio equipment and the trailing wire antenna during radio operation and further includes means for removing all electrical contact while the antenna is being extended or retracted;

The invention thereby minimizes noises due to poor electrical contact and obviates Wear on the antenna and on the bearing surfaces.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel electrical connector apparatus for a trailing-wire antenna which maintains positive contact during radio operation and which is disconnected from the antenna while the antenna is being extended or retracted.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means capable of selectively making high pressure contact over a relatively long length of an aircraft trailingwire antenna as it passes through a reeling mechanism fairlead.

A further object of the invention is directed to an improved arrangement of trailingwire antenna guides and a wire cutter in combination with the electrical connector apparatus in a trailing-wire antenna fairlead.

These and other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings'wherein: I Fig. 1 illustrates, in a side elevation, the general arnector apparatus and associated elements in position forl rangement of a reeling mechanism and a fairlead tar; a

trailing-wire antenna mounted in an aircraft with trailing-wire antenna in the fully retracted or reeled-rm position;

length of the trailing-wire antenna; and

Fig. 3 represents an enlarged isometric view away portion of the fairlead showing the electrical 0on extending or retracting the antenna wire. I v Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference. characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is illustrated in Fig. 1 an ele-' vational view of a trailing-wire antenna reel mechanism, indicated generally by the numeral 10, for extending'or reeling-out and for retracting or reeling-in a trailing-wire.

antenna 11 from an aircraft while in flight. The princi pal support member for the mechanism 10 comprises a tubular fairlead 12 extending through an outside wall 13 of the aircraft. The fairlead 12 is fixed to the wall 13 with the outer end thereof directed rearwardly in order 16, the. motor 15 and gear means 16 being fixed. to air craft structure or to the fairlead 12 by convenient sup-i port members. An electrical. source, not shown, is se;

lectively connected through a cable 16' to the motor 15 for rotating the reel 14 in a reeling or unreeling direc-.- tion. I An enlarged isometric view of a cut-away portionot;

" the fairlead -'12 is shown in Fig. 3 wherein an electrical connector, indicated generally by the numeral 17, is shown in the position of electrical contact with the trailing-wire antenna 11. The connector 17 comprises the coaxial rings 18 and 19 electrically insulated fromthefairleadi 12 and connected to each other by two oppositely d i s+ posed resilient strips or elongated contacts 21 and 2 2. The contacts 21 and 22 are made of a spring material, preferably phosphor bronze, silver-plated for high elec-" trical conductance, and formed in a manner which creates a spring bias that urges the confronting sides of the con tacts 21 and 22 toward each other over the length L intermediate the ends thereof. The ring 18 is slida'ble' within the fairlead 12 and is preferably constructed 'of' Fiberglas or Teflon, and lower ring 19 of similar. con struction is fixed to the fairlead 12. An insulated electrical post 20 from the connector 17 extends through the fairlead 12 and connects to a remotely located radio transmitter-receiver 23 through. an antenna connecting cable 24.

An enlarged side view of the contacts.21 and :22'is shown in Figs. 2a and 2b for demonstrating the manner in which positive electrical contact against the antenna 11 is achieved. In Fig. 2a, the antenna 11 is being extended or reeled-out, and an external force F is being applied to the movable ring 18 in a direction away from fixed ring 19 against the spring bias of contacts 21 and'22 thereby preventing the contacts 21- and 22 from touching the antenna 11- and causing sliding friction. When the external force F against ring 18 is removed, as shown in Fig. 2b, the contacts 21 and 22 areurged toward each other since ring 18 can now move toward ring 19 and V I cient to force the antenna 11 to deflect and follow the contour of the contacts21 and 22 for'at least the length- P e te ,Mar-301 19 of a cut: 4

L. It should be noted that the contacts 21 and 22 are formed so that the point of maximum deflection of contact 21 is axially displaced from the point of maximum deflection oft-he contact 22, by the, length L. It should also be apparent that the contact pressure can be very without producing any substantial deflection of the antenna 11 because the contacts 21 and 22 merely oppose each other after they both fully engage the antenna 11. The spring force of contacts 21 and 22 can be augmented by additional means such as a solenoid spring. 25. Hence, aIhigh pressure connection is provided along a substantial length of antenna 11.

In additionto the ringand contact structure described, two guide rods 27 are fixed at diametrically opposite sides of the fixed ring 19 and extend through two correspondingly disposed guide tubes 28 fixed to the movable ring 18 and extending toward the reelend of the fairlead 12. A drive yoke 29 interconnects the guide tubes 28 and serves as a common actuator plate for a solenoid armature rod 31. The rod 31 extends through a solenoid coil 32 internally fixed to the fairlead 12. The solenoid spring 25 is interposed betweenthe coil 32 and the yoke 31 to bias the movable ring 18 toward the fixed ring 19 as described above.

Electrical leads 33 on the coil 32 are connected in parallel with the cable 16' whereby energization of the motor 16 in either direction will also energize the coil 32 and disengage the contacts 21 and 22 from the antenna 1 1. It is preferred that the ends of contacts 21 and 22 be electrically connected as by jumpers 35 thereby obtaining multi-path parallel circuits which tend to lower the overall impedance of the electrical connector 17.

A pair of radial brackets 34 fixed on diametrically op-. posite sides of the fairlead 12 pivotally support pulleys 36 to maintain the antenna wire 11 at the center of the movable ring 18. A similar pair of brackets 37 and pulleys 38 maintain the antenna 11 at the center of the fixed ring 19. Additional brackets 39 and pulleys 41 maintain a vertical center position of the antenna 11 within the .fairlead 12. The pulleys 36 38 and 41 are fabricated of an electrically nonconducting material such as Teflon. A fish or drogue 40 is attached to the outer terminal of the antenna 11 to insure sufficient initial drag and to prevent the antenna 11 from whipping against adjacent aircraft structure. The. drogue 40 further minimizes droop when the antenna 11 is extended a prescribed amount by increasing the drag at the outer terminal of antenna 11.

A guillotine-type knife 42 is spring biased against a solenoid actuated latch 43 by a knife spring 44. Energizing a latch solenoid 46 releases the knife 42 and causes to shear oif and jettison the antenna 11 portion extending from the. outerend of the fairlead 12. It is contemplated that a separate electrical supply. not shown, energizes latch solenoid 46 through electrical leads 47 whereby the antenna 11 may be sheared independently of the operation of the electrical connector 17.

Operation The operation of the mechanism will now be sum marized with particular reference to Figs. 1 and 3 which show the trailing-wire antenna 11 in the fully retracted position and the electrical contacts 21 and 22 secured against the antenna 11. When. the antenna 11 is to be extended or reeled out, the electrical power supply is connected through the cable 16 to the motor 'to cause the motor to drive in a direction that will unreel the antenna 11. Simultaneously, the solenoid coil 32 is energized to overcome the forces of the spring 25 and the contacts 21 and 22 and to. position the armature rod 31 and movable ring 18 away from fixed ring 19. The contacts 21 and 22 are thereby separated from the antenna 11 during reeling-out operation, as shown in Fig. 2a. Aftep the antenna 11 has been extended the desired amount, the motor 15 and the coil 32 are deenergi zed causing the antenna 11 to halt and permit the spring 25 and the contacts 21 and 22 to urge the movable ring 18 toward the fixed ring 19. Contacts 21 and 22 thereby reengage the antenna 11 in the manner shown in Fig. 2b; Conversely, energizing the motor 15 in a direction which causes the reel 14 to retract the antenna 11 also energizes the coil 32 to withdraw the contacts 21 and 22 from the antenna 11, while the retracting or reeling-in operation proceeds.

For emergency jettisoning or for other reasons where it is desirable to discard or separate the extended portion of the antenna 11 from the reeling mechanism 10, the electrical power supply is connected to the leads 47 thereby actuating the solenoid latch 43 which releases the knife 42 for severing the antenna 11.

It should be understood that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications and variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An electrical connector apparatus for a trailing wire antenna extending therethrough, comprising: a pair of nonconductive rings adapted to be coaxially disposed about the antenna, a first resilient strip contact connected at opposite terminals thereof to coinciding angular positions respectively on each of said rings, a second resilient strip contact connected at opposite terminals thereof to diametrically opposite angular positions respectively on each of said rings, said resilient contacts adapted to be urged radially inward for engaging the antenna intermediate the terminals with maximum deflection of each of said contacts transversely displaced, means for applying a separating force to said rings whereby said contacts disengage when the antenna is passing through said apparatus, and means adapted for connecting said terminals to radio equipment.

2. An electrical connector apparatus for a trailing-wire antenna extending therethrough, comprising: a pair of nonconductive members adapted to be spaced apart along the antenna, a first resilient contact peripherally connected between said members, a second resilient contact peripherally connected between said members and opposingly disposed to said first contact, said contacts adapted to be urged radially inward intermediate the ends thereof with deflection of each of said contacts transversely displaced, means for applying a force to said members whereby said contacts disengage when the antenna is passing through said apparatus, and means adapted for connecting electrical equipment to said contacts,

3. In an electrical connector apparatus for a wire extending therethrough, a pair of nonconductive members adapted to be disposed along the wire, two resilient contacts connected between said members and opposing disposed to each other, said contacts urged radially inward intermediate the ends thereof, means for applying a force to said members, and means for connecting said contacts to other electrical apparatus.

4. In an electrical connector apparatus for an extended wire, a pair of flexible contacts opposingly urged against each other by a spring means and adapted to receive the wire therebetween, and means for removing said contacts while the wire passes through the apparatus.

5. In a trai ing-wire antenna reeling mechanism for an aircraft, the combination comprising: a cylindrical fairlead adapted to pass an extended trailing-wire antenna through the Wall of the aircraft, an antenna reel and drive mechanism fixed at the inner end of said fairlead for extending or retracting the antenna, a drag means attached to the free end of the antenna, a stationary non conductive ring fixed to the inner wall of said fairlead, a movable nonconductive ring within said fairlead and coaxially slidable with respect to said stationary ring, a first flexible strip contact connected at the opposite terminals thereof at coinciding angular positions respective- 1y on each of said rings, a second flexible strip contact connected at the opposite terminals thereof to diametrical- 1y opposite angular positions respectively on each of said rings, spring means connected to urge said contacts radially inward for engaging the antenna intermediate the terminals with maximum deflection of each of said contacts transversely displaced, means for applying a force to said movable ring whereby said contacts disengage when the antenna is being reeled in or out, and means adapted for connecting said terminals to radio equipment.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5 further comprising, in combination: a plurality of sheaves at each of said rings positioned for maintaining the antenna along the transverse axis of said fairlead.

7. In a trailing-wire antenna reeling mechanism for an aircraft, the combination comprising: a fairlead adapted to pass a trailing-wire antenna through the wall of the aircraft, a reel mechanism fixed at the inner end of said fairlead for extending or retracting the antenna attached at one end thereof, a stationary nonconductive member fixed to said fairlead, a movable nonconductive member within said fairlead, a first resilient contact peripherally connected between said members, a second resilient contact peripherally connected between said members and oppositely disposed to said first contact, said contacts adapted to be urged radially inward intermediate the ends of said contacts with maximum deflection of each of said contacts transversely displaced, means for applying a force to said movable member, whereby said contacts disengage when the antenna is being reeled in or out, and means adapted for connecting electrical equipment to said contacts.

8. In a trailing-wire antenna reeling mechanism for an aircraft, the combination comprising: a fairlead adapted to pass an extended trailing-wire antenna through-the wall of the aircraft, means for extending or retracting an antenna, two nonconductive members within said fairlead and coaxially slidable with respect to each other, two resilient contacts connected between said members and opposingly disposed to each other, said contacts urged radially inward intermediate the ends thereof, means for applying a force to said members, and means adapted for connecting said terminals to radio equipment.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 further comprising, in combination: a plurality of sheaves at each of said members adapted for centering the antenna within said fairlead.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,187,575 Schroder Jan. 16, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 310,643 Germany Oct. 4, 1919 

